Summary

The deterioration of the wage conditions of non-qualified workers has been the subject of considerable attention over the past few years. Unfortunately, it is not the sole preoccupation of public decision-makers. In this class of workers, the employment rate is particularly low, while unemployment tends to remain rather high. The first cause of non-qualification of young workers being their dropping out of school (the Canadian rate of dropouts from high school is 18%), any policy likely to reduce the dropout rates will be an effective means of improving the working situation of the youth. Our research identifies several determinants of dropping out and different policies which can be put into action by the governments in order to reduce dropout. We mention particularly the role played by the minimum wage in the dropout phenomenon: it is clear that a high minimum wage tends to increase dropout significantly